Permanent bans aren't very permanent

Earlier this year, we received a slew of unban requests from old, permanently banned players, all of which were forgiven. This got us thinking, 'maybe we should ban players for a year rather than permanently?', figuring one year is long enough for most players to change their ways. This would mean any offense that would normally earn someone a permanent ban - such as hacking - would now only earn them a one year ban, but permanent bans would still be possible for the bad eggs who manage to earn them (e.g., a child porn spray will still result in an immediate perm ban).

A few weeks ago we decided to move forward with this idea, and yesterday we finalized it. One year bans will now be given in place of permanent bans, and permanent bans will be given on a case-by-case basis.

With this change comes another mass unban (the last one we did was in July 2013). 1,260 permanent bans that were a year or older have been lifted, and 163 permanent bans given within the past year have been updated to one year bans. Not all bans were lifted however, 87 exceptions were kept intact.

@Server Admin's:
-- Now is a good time to review the server rules. Make sure you're logged into your forum account so you can see the updated punishment procedures.
-- If you believe someone deserves a permanent ban, create a thread in the perm ban request section of the forums.

Thanks to @Momo for the idea, @Seeker for stealing it and starting a thread about it, @Kyle for helping with the queries, and all of LSA+ for their input.

TL;DR Going forward the maximum ban length will be one year for almost all offenses. Permanent bans are still possible however and will be given on a case-by-case basis. 1,260 permanent bans that were a year or older have been lifted, and 163 permanent bans given within the past year have been updated to one year bans.

For them just to get unbanned again a year later for them to do so again? It'd just be an endless cycle. Some people (like the kids) wouldn't care because they don't understand "maturity". Unfortunately. But meh.

TL;DR Going forward the maximum ban length will be one year for almost all offenses. Permanent bans are still possible however and will be given on a case-by-case basis. 1,260 permanent bans that were a year or older have been lifted, and 163 permanent bans given within the past year have been updated to one year bans.

For them just to get unbanned again a year later for them to do so again? It'd just be an endless cycle. Some people (like the kids) wouldn't care because they don't understand "maturity". Unfortunately. But meh.

You're over thinking it. Even with these bans being uplifted, don't expect a wave to crash in. This only allows entry to some of the old loyal ones that are still looking to come back. Most of the bans will be left unrevived. If anyone comes back and does the same exact thing again, gets banned for another year, the chances of them coming back is super slim. Super.